All posts filed under: Art

“One of my former comics instructors recently said something eluding to being an artist and cartoonist is like being a vampire, it is always going to be a part of you. I have always been creative, any time I try to do anything else, writing, journalism, community organizing, teaching, my art always intersects with that work…

Take a moment, escape into a dreamy, beautiful, complex world of women… I can’t recall how I stumbled upon this, but I’m so glad I did. Women’s Tales is a series of short films brought together by Miuccia Prada. All are written and directed by women, and feature some truly lovely, talented female actors. Why I love this collection: These films make you feel the power, beauty, vulnerability, complexity of women. They made me both laugh and cry, feel at ease and feel uncomfortable. They are each no more than about 15 minutes long, just long enough to draw you completely into their worlds, but not so long that you have to “find the time” to watch them. And so much gorgeous fashion!! Since it’s a film collection by Miuccia, most all of the costumes are from the MiuMiu collection. Doubly fabulous. My mini-reviews of each: * #1 “The Powder Room”, by Zoe Cassavetes. Features groovy, retro music, has a slight 80’s vibe. It’s like a dream, soft and gradual, without any clear point. Perhaps …

Yes, this rocks. Not only are these women “grown-up”, but they are also influential female powerhouses. There’s something in the air, and it feels like a fresh, new version of feminism: Equality among the ages. (feminism is defined as equality between the sexes, but why should age be left out?) Joan Didion for Céline, 2015 and Joni Mitchell for Saint Laurent’s Music Project, 2015. I don’t mind seeing young, beautiful models in high fashion. Pretty Young Things are, well, pretty and make everything around them sort of glow, it’s true. But when I saw these ads of Joan and Joni I wanted to jump on my chair. It felt like something REAL, and powerful… fashion as represented by women of experience and accomplishment. (I feel it necessary here to make a note about women whose career is/was being a model, and who also do great work–there are many! Liya Kebede, Karolina Kurkova, Natalia Vodianova, Christy Turlington-Burns, Lauren Hutton.. just to name a few). A young female writer, Elisa Rodriguez-Vila, recently wrote a short piece titled “What if all the major …

What a fantastic scene… The spring 2015 runway show by Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel was brought to a close with a rambunctious, glorious gang of models as feminists in mock protest. Yes, it was only a show. A high-end fashion show for the elite brand of Chanel. But come on… it was genius and so much fun!! And honestly even though it was all done in the name of fashion, it also had a powerful effect. It brought the current conversation of women’s equality to the fore within the domain of fashion, where typically the focus is on hemlines and it-bags. And that’s worth something. From the Chanel News website, this was said of the show: “…these Chanel women are free-spirited and daring; they progress far beyond mere social norms; they are independent, modern, and active, in the very image of Gabrielle Chanel. …they walk the streets of major cities with long, confident strides.” I dig it. Photo credits: Top image Getty Images via Bazaar; next image via pop sugar; next image via Bazaar; Bottom image by …